The Boy Scout and the Sociopath
by fmd-jade
Summary: Will and Frankie contemplate their married life. Episode tag to 1x08 Confessions of a Dangerous Mind
1. Chapter 1

Episode Tag to 1x08 Confessions of a Dangerous Mind. Starts rights at the end of that episode.

* * *

Frankie eyes Will while he leans over the pool table and positions his cue.

"So." She asks nonchalantly. "What was my initial gift?"

He sinks one of his balls into the corner pocket.

"What do you mean?" He asks as he straightens himself and takes a swig of his beer.

Frankie narrows her eyes at him. "Well, I shot you while we should have been at the party. You must have already had a secret Santa gift for me." She waits until Will has carefully re-aligned his cue and is prepared to take his next shot. "What was it?"

He misses the pocket by a hand width.

"Ow, that's bad." Frankie laughs.

"Hey, I was just shot, alright?! My balance is off." Will defends himself.

Frankie walks up to him, verging dangerously close into his personal space. She looks up at him and holds his gaze, making him raise his eyebrows. Then, with a sly smile, she bumps his hip with hers which causes Will to stumble gracelessly to the side.

"Ow, ow." He hops on his good foot. "Just. Shot." He repeats with a good-natured laugh.

"Oh, you're lucky I shot you." Frankie says as she aligns her cue and takes her shot. The ball goes straight for the centre pocket.

"Lucky?" The disbelief is evident in his voice.

"Yeah, because once that's healed you won't have an excuse for playing so awfully."

"Haha."

Will feigns to be put out with a hand to his heart but secretly enjoys her self-satisfied smile. He's just thinking that he would gladly let her make fun of him if she smiled at him like that, when Frankie interrupts his musings.

"So?"

"So what?"

"My gift?" She reminds him. "Stop stonewalling."

"Why are you so eager all of a sudden? Last week you didn't even like me."

"What are you talking about?" Frankie frowns.

"You threatened to shoot me?!" He reminds her.

She just shrugs in response. "I feel like shooting you all the time. You'll have to be more specific."

There was that damn irresistible, beautiful smirk again.

"At the coffee place down the street...?" He tries to jog her memory. "We were getting coffee for the team."

"Oh." Frankie's eyes widen. "You mean when you flirted with the coffee girl."

They had slowly worked their way around the pool table and were now standing right in front of each other. Will crossed his arms in front of his chest. "A. She is not a girl. And B. I was not flirting. That was called being nice. You should try it sometime."

"Thanks, I'll pass." Frankie replied. "She wasn't really my type. Plus, judging from how into you she was, there are definitely Daddy issues I wouldn't wanna touch."

Will actually has to laugh at that and Frankie can't help but join him.

"Seriously, though." She clears her throat and suddenly wonders how they ended up standing so damn close to each other. "My present? Knowing you, it's something personal so you can't gift it to someone else."

"Yeah, I know." Will weighs his head from side to side. "But I figured I'd hold onto it. Maybe I'll need it for our first wedding anniversary. You know, before you start things with men in our bathtub."

"Meh." Frankie turns back to the pool table. She's forgotten whose turn it is. "Now that you know about the bathtub, it takes all the fun out of it."

:::

They play for another two rounds before standing no longer agrees with the bullet wound in his foot. Frankie takes pity on him and lets Will use her as a crutch on his way to the bar. While Will settles himself, Frankie rounds the counter, gets two glasses from the shelf and draws them both two beers. Afterwards she sits down next to Will and turns to face him.

"My rich uncle..." Will starts after they toast. "Does he die of natural causes or are you helping him along? You know." He gestures around with his beer. "So you can divorce me faster."

Frankie pretends to think about it. "That depends." She says slowly, taking a sip.

"On what?"

"Tell me more about that pond."

Will just looks at her for a moment but can't detect any malicious intent on her face. "Well." He sets down his glass and clears his throat. "It's at the back of our yard. Just before the tree line starts."

"That must be some backyard."

"Of course." Will boasts. "Where else would Timmy play?"

"Timmy?"

"That's our dog." Will points out.

"Of course." Frankie says and nods her head, as if contemplating that fact for a moment. "Every kid needs a dog I suppose."

"The-" Will clears his throat. "Kid?!"

There's a definite twinkle in Frankie's eyes. "Yeah."

Will nods to himself and takes a swig of his beer. Then he meets her gaze again head-on. "So how many kids are we talking about here?" He continues. "I'm thinking... Three."

"One." Frankie says at the same time.

"One? No." Will announces.

"What? Why not?"

"Our daughter can't be an only child." He points out.

"Our daughter? What makes you think we'd have a daughter?"

"Well, nothing." He admits almost sheepishly. "But you always wanted a little girl."

"Oh my God. I should never have told you that!" Frankie shakes her head.

"What? Why not?"

"Because now when we have a boy, you'll use it against me to have another kid."

"Well, yeah." He smiles as if that was a given. "And I mean divorce is tough on kids. It'd be better if they didn't have to go through that alone." He adds as an afterthought.

"Who says I'm going to divorce you?" Frankie says playfully.

"What about the money?" Will wants to know.

"Right. But if I divorce you, I'll only get half. If we stay married, I can spend all of it. And besides." She shrugs and her face loses her teasing demeanour for a second. "I don't want to lose the house."

"Yeah?" Will checks in disbelief. "You like it?"

"Yes." Frankie says. "Throw in a cherry tree and you have a deal."

"Done." Will says, even before she is finished talking.

He smiles at her and Frankie can't help but smile back.

:::

It's not until later, when Standish and Susan re-join everyone in the bar with pizza and Chinese takeout - "What SHEP would it be, if it didn't have greasy take-out?" - that Frankie seems to think of something else.

Under the table she nudges Will with her foot until he meets her gaze with a quizzical look.

"Instead of divorcing you, I could still kill you." Frankie says gleefully. "That order was never rescinded, so it would still be government sanctioned."

"You wouldn't." Will states while the rest of the team wonders what they're talking about.

Frankie winks at him. "I guess we'll have to wait and see."


	2. Chapter 2

They don't talk about it again until a mission in Miami a few months down the road goes completely FUBAR.

Frankie, undercover at a night club, gets made because their mark's security guard recognizes her from a previous mission of hers. They manage to grab her in a back alley where Will and Jai would stand hours later looking for clues.

When they can't get a lead, Will smashes his phone against the wall in frustration.

Their mark, Calderón, meanwhile, takes Frankie out to sea in an effort to dump her body after questioning. She manages to overpower him and his men, killing all three of them in the process, but the yacht's engine controls get damaged in the fire fight.

The cell phone she finds doesn't have any reception, but she locates a SAT phone she uses to call Will. When she can't get a hold of him, she calls Susan.

:::

"_Susan_?" Frankie sounds tired. "_I love you, but can I talk to Will_?"

Susan winces. That's the third time Frankie asked about Will in the last twenty minutes. "Oh, honey. Absolutely. He is on his way, okay? And as soon as he's here you can talk to him."

'Here' is their temporary home base in the FBI's Miami office.

"_Where is he_?"

Susan leans down and presses a button to mute the call on her end.

"Call Jai again." She tells Standish impatiently.

"They're on their way." He mutters without looking up from his screen. He's been trying to pinpoint Frankie's location for the better part of an hour now. So far with no luck.

Susan unmutes the call. "He and Jai went looking for you at the night club, remember? They're on their way back right now."

"_Yeah, sorry_."

"It's fine, honey. Don't worry."

Susan keeps her busy with what Frankie would usually call 'inane chitchat' until Will breezes into the room, Jai on his heels. Susan mutes the call to fill them in.

"Calderón took her out to sea on his yacht, she managed to free herself and took care of Calderón and his men, but the engine controls where shot in the fight. She's basically adrift. No mainland, no landmark around for her to determine a position. She's calling from an encrypted SAT phone. Standish is working on her position; the Coast Guard is on standby to render assistance as soon as we know where she is."

"Is she hurt?" Will asks as he takes this all in.

Susan nods. "Definitely a head injury, possibly anterograde amnesia."

"We found a used canula in that alley. Could be drugged too." Jai adds.

"Alright. Let me talk to her." Will takes a deep breath and reaches down to unmute the call.

"Hey, boo." He says and Susan has to give him credit as to how cheerful he manages to sound. He looks anything but.

Frankie's answer to hearing his voice is a mixture between a laugh and a sob. "_Hi_."

"If you wanted to go on a boat ride, work on a tan, all you had to do was say so." He tries to joke.

"_You couldn't handle me in a bikini_."

Will chuckles. "Probably not." He agrees. "So, Susan told me what happened. How are you holding up?"

"_Well… Fighting off three guys was definitely the highlight of my cruise. Since then it's been really slow going_."

Will allows himself to slightly relax and sits down at the conference table. She sounds fine so far. Tired, but fine.

"_What's happening on your end_?"

"Well." Will takes a look around. "The Coast Guard is just waiting for Standish to give them your location and then we'll have you out of there as soon as possible."

"_The Coast Guard_?"

"Yeah. Don't tell me you have a thing for men in uniform."

"_Just the hot ones_." Frankie jokes, but she sounds as if her heart is not in it.

"I'll file that under sexual harassment, you know?"

"_You can add it to the list_."

Will shares an anxious look with Susan. Frankie doesn't sound well.

"Hey, boo?!" Will tries.

"_Hm_?"

"I need to know what condition you're in, okay?"

Frankie doesn't respond.

"Frankie?"

Still no response. Will shoots Susan a worried look.

"Hey, Frankie, talk to me."

"_Hm, yeah_." She sounds weak.

"What happened?" Will asked.

"_Nothing... I'm... fine_." Her answer takes longer than he's comfortable with.

"Frankie. Please be honest with me here, okay."

"_I'm always honest with you_." He hears her cough, then wince. "_Well, mostly… Often enough, I mean_."

Will chuckles. "Frankie. I know you're like this tough tomboy princess, which I completely adore under normal circumstances, but right now, I need to know how badly you're hurt."

"_Kay_."

"So? What happened just now?"

"_Just dizzy_."

"Why?"

"_Could be the blood loss_."

Will sits upright and leans over the phone's microphone as if he could physically reach her that way. "Blood loss from what? Have you been shot?"

"_Stabbed._"

"How bad?"

There's a definite pause before she answers.

"_Not bad. But it… hurts_."

And actively bleeds apparently, Will adds in thought. He mutes the call and looks over at Standish and Jai working on the computers. Susan sits across from him and nervously twists her hands.

"Hey Standish." Will calls out. "How is the search going?"

Standish doesn't even look up from his screen. "Working on it."

Will wants to say something else, but Susan intercepts him before he can. "Will."

He meets her gaze.

"He's working on it, okay?! Why don't you keep talking to Frankie."

Will, un-mutes the call again.

"Hey, Frankie."

"_Will_?"

"Yeah, I'm here. We're all here."

"_Thought I'd lost you there for a moment_."

He shakes his head. "Not going to happen."

"_Okay_."

::

Susan, Will and Frankie keep talking among themselves while Standish works on finding her. Jai helps him if only to not feel completely useless.

Susan throws Will a worried look. He tries to sound as hopeful and optimistic as he can, but he looks worried. And more rattled by the minute as Frankie's answers take longer and longer.

"Hey, Frankie, keep talking. You have to stay awake." He tries to keep her focused.

"_Do you… know where I am_?"

"Standish is working on it." He reassures her.

"_Okay. Is… is Susan still there_?"

"I'm right here, honey." Susan speaks up.

"_Hey! Susan_?"

"Yeah?" Will and her share a look.

"_Don't tell Will but I think something's wrong_."

Will throws his hands up in frustration.

"You're on speaker, honey." Susan reminds her.

"_Yeah, but don't tell Will_."

"Why don't you tell me what's going on and then we'll decide if Will needs to know, okay?"

Will throws her a dark look but Susan just shrugs at him. "What do you want me to do?" She hisses.

"Frankie? It's Will. What's going on?"

"_My head hurts really badly_."

The very fact that she is admitting to that of her own free will worries him more than anything else.

"What else?"

"_Do you know the feeling when you get up too fast and you have black spots dancing in front of your eyes_?"

"Yeah?"

"_I kinda have that… All the time_."

Will mutes the call. "Standish." He barks. "Tell me you have her location."

"Working on it." Is the only answer he gets.

"Where the hell is she? The Bermuda triangle?" Will snaps.

"Hey man." Standish looks up from his computer screen and turns around. "This guy was dealing top of the line equipment. It's going to take some time."

Will is afraid Frankie doesn't have that time. He gets up from his chair and starts pacing.

"Hey." Susan steps up to him and lays a hand on his shoulder. "I know how you're feeling but let him do his thing. Why don't I talk to her for a while and you go and get some air?"

Will shakes his head. "No. It's fine."

"Okay." Susan reluctantly agrees. "You're not the only one that cares about her. Don't forget that."

"_Will? Susan_?" Frankie's voice sounds faint over the SAT phone's connection.

Susan throws Will a last estimating look before she forcefully un-mutes the call. "We're still here, honey."

"_I'm really tired_, guys."

"I know." Susan says. "But try to stay awake, okay?"

"_Will_?!"

"Yeah, I'm here." He hopes she doesn't hear the bleakness in his voice. She's been on that yacht in the middle of the freaking ocean for hours now. With the engines disabled, there's no telling where a current might've dragged her. They're searching for a needle in a whole damn barn.

"_Tell me more about our backyard_."

"Our backyard?"

"_You know… For Timmy and the kids_."

Jai turns around from his computer at her words and both he and Susan shoot Will incredulous looks.

"Who's Timmy?" Susan mouthes at Jai.

Jai just shrugs. "Kids?" He looks as if the very thought repulses him.

Realization meanwhile dawns on Will and literally forces him to his knees as he sinks down into the nearest chair. He hasn't thought about it, about their hypothetical marriage and their house and their kids and their dog since they had that initial conversation all those months ago.

There's no point in contemplating something that in all likelihood will never come to pass. He's enough of a realist to realise that. And yet, when he does allow himself to think about it, it paints such a clear and vivid picture in his mind that it doesn't take much effort at all.

Will takes a deep breath, leans back in his chair and closes his eyes. "You know the pond?" His voice is almost wistful.

"_The one the worker fell into before I put him in the bathtub_?"

"Yeah." Will chuckles. "There's actually a wooden dock going out over that pond."

Jai and Susan listen as Will proceeds to tell Frankie about this mysterious backyard. About sitting on a wooden dock and water fights and swimming competitions. About the patio he's going to build himself and a fire pit and a grill.

"We'll have great fourth of July barbecues out there, you'll see. We'll invite the whole team."

"_Even Ray_?"

"Hm." Will pretends to think about it. "Only if he brings his grandmother's potato salad."

Frankie chuckles weakly.

"There should be a Walnut tree for the tree house." Will continues.

"_Tree house_?"

"Yeah. A proper one with a rope ladder and a trapdoor and everything."

"_Don't forget about the cherry tree_."

"Never." His voice grows thick. "I actually figured we could hang a swing in the cherry tree for little Rebecca."

"_Rebecca_?" Frankie's sounds more and more sleepy.

"Yeah. Do you like it?" He sounds hopeful.

"_My mum's name was Rebecca_." Frankie says.

"Yeah, I know." Will admits softly.

"_I love it_."

Susan can only watch what happens right in front of her.

"_Tell me about the kitchen_."

"The kitchen?"

"_In our house_."

"Well, the kitchen... I'm thinking white."

"_Blue_."

"Blue? Boo, no. White cabinets, wooden counters."

"_I want a_..." She takes a raspy breath. "_Blue kitchen_."

"But blue doesn't go with the black and white chequered tiles."

"_I don't care about tiles_."

"Alright." Will smiles. "Blue kitchen. I can live with that. Especially since you'll allow me to have a gas stove."

"_Sure_."

"Yeah?"

"_You'll have to do all the cooking anyway_."

:::

It's another ten minutes before Standish's exclamation of "Eureka!" interrupts a spirited discussion about the kind of dog breed they'd want Timmy to be.

Jai informs the Coast Guard while Will tells Frankie the good news.

"Do you hear that? Standish managed to locate you and the Coast Guard is on its way right now."

"_Just the Coast Guard_?"

"Yeah." Will admits. "They need all the extra space on the chopper for you." And a doctor and emergency equipment, but he refrains from mentioning that. "We'll see you as soon as you're back on solid ground."

"_Don't bother if they sent the hot ones_." Frankie tries to joke.

"Remind me to sign a pre-nup." Will counters.

"_Hey, no divorce, remember?! Until your unsolved murder do us part_."

Will smirks at that.

"_How long until they get here_?"

Will turns and looks at Jai.

"45 minutes." He informs him.

"Did you hear that?" Will asks. "Just enough time to enjoy that sunrise in a few minutes."

"_Can't I just take a nap now_?"

"Yeah." Will relents. "I suppose you can. But leave the line open, okay?"

"_Kay._" She sounds as if she is halfway asleep already.

Will waits a few seconds, then he mutes the call on their end. When he looks up, the rest of the team watches him curiously.

"What?" He asks defensively.

When none of them say anything, he shakes his head and walks over to Standish. He puts a hand on the younger man's shoulder. "Thank you. I don't know if anyone else could have done that. You did a fantastic job. And I'm sorry I snapped at you before."

"It's okay, man." Standish reassures him. "Anything for your wife, am I right?" He wriggles his brows suggestively while Will just groans and shakes his head. Susan and Jai just laugh.

"That was just… We were…." Will struggles with an explanation before he gives up on it completely.

After tonight, he can't bring himself to care. He congratulates the team again and then excuses himself.

It only takes him a few minutes until he finds a balcony from which he can see the ocean and the impending sunrise.

He hears the door open behind him a few minutes later and doesn't have to turn to know who it is.

"Hey." Susan walks up to him, wraps her arm around his waist and rests her head on his shoulder. Will in turn puts his arm around her and pulls her close.

"What a night, huh." She says after the sun breached the horizon.

"Yeah." Will nods.

"The Coast Guard just radioed in. ETA ten minutes. They'll update us on her status as soon as they reach her." She can practically feel the tension leave his body. "Are you okay?"

"Fine."

"Because what you did in there…" She trails off.

"It was…. a hypothetical situation we talked about months ago."

"Whatever it was." Susan points out. "You put enough honest thought into it to give both of you some comfort. And that's what counts, right?"

:::

Frankie feels light-headed when she wakes. She waits for the familiar pain in her head, but it never comes. She looks around her hospital room but can only guess the time by the darkness outside her window.

When her eyes get used to the dim light, she understands why she can't move her left arm. Will sits in a chair next to her bed. He's asleep, but with his right hand he'd grabbed her left one and held onto it. She smiles to herself. They don't normally do… this.

Frankie turns her hand to intertwine her fingers with his. She gives them a light squeeze, then she drifts off to sleep again.


End file.
